JBL Link Portable: In-Depth Review!

Hey guys, today I’m reviewing the JBL Link Portable :)

[@MycroftHolmesV]

Thanks for detailed review. It answered literally all of my questions. I was interested to find out if it supports voice match and speaker groups since I just returned a Sonos Move because it didn't support either of those.

[@patricknelson]

Hey thanks for the review! It was hard to find out what that button in the middle does without this review.

[@camillamusse3466]

Thanks for a really nice review! One question though: is it possible to set an alarm playing a whole playlist from eg 7 in the morning?

[@blakecremeans1088]

Great video! It's also worth mentioning this speaker is WATERPROOF! Rated at IXP7! This is what sold me on it as we wanted it for use on the patio outside.

[@CreepyLedbetter]

Mine just died :-( I think water that was still in the fabric came in contact with the charger base, as I saw some black around the charging ring. Be careful!

[@amicaelo]

Congratulations !! Best review on KZbin !!! Some questions: 1) Does it really have 360 surrounding sound as JBL advertises ? 2) Have you had a chance to compare it to Amazon Echo Studio ? If so, which one sounds better ?

[@leeb6849]

Bought two of these today, and the first video I find for a run down is being done by someone I used to work with! Small world! Great to see you are doing well Oliver, great video and am subscribed, keep up the good work.

[@rexzuu316]

Bro does NOT care about you

[@Tommy-rm6cf]

I have two these speakers. So, can I connect and play two speakers at the same time? Thanks

[@sauna41]

How does this compare to JBL Link Music or Google Nest Audio sound quality wise?

[@joshdimovski4483]

I just got mine, the worst thing about it is having music playing loud and the voice assistant yelling at you when answering questions, so annoying. Doesn't seem to be a fix yet?

[@c1assick]

How do you connect to Bluetooth?? I can only get it to work at home

[@Gadgetonomy]

I wonder how this compares to the original Google Home speaker in regards to sound quality. I know you said they are similar but have you done a sound comparison? I am looking at replacing my Home speaker with something better but still affordable.

[@tester7127]

I heard JBL Link portable support airplay2. so is it possible to do setup with apple wac?

[@mankitlee]

I just bought one yesterday And I love it It is loud and terible and bass are great

[@TimothyHagerTCH]

Does the JBL line up heat the Nest Audio now? I could see that they would give the ol' Google a solid run for their money, but now I'm wondering to get one of these or a Nest Audio. Thanks!

[@meho9668]

The sound quality depends a lot from the position of the speaker. I found out that it sounds best right up against the wall or in corner of the room. Bass gets a bit dipper. In the middle of the small room on the table it is of course weak but it is small. For vocals and jazz it is Ok but for sth harder more bassy it is not that good. When comparing to nest mini it is better in the middle of the room, however, beside the wall it is not that much better then nest mini on the wall, plugged directly in a socket. I guess nest audio would be a bit better than this JBL but it is not portable.

[@woozy1z933]

If u push the bluetooth & mic button once after each other it will come up on your phone bluetooth so you dont have to connect thru google home just found out now playing around with my speaker 👍🏽

[@diogojosenogueira6596]

One question - Can it be remotely turned on either on Apple Home app or Google Home app? I’m imagining a scenario where the it’s off the charging station, turned off, but with battery…

[@Johanna-tt7ge]

can you change the song, with some combination of keys?

[@alexandrucapatina8688]

A small tip for when you review products with Google Assistant / Alexa functionality: lower the volume of the hotwords in post production so that our Google / Amazon devices won't go doing stuff like calling Oliver Charity

[@thisisoliver24]

Thank you for the feedback :) I will be re-uploading because of copyright claim due to the music in the end so I will definitely make these changes in post. Thank you for the feedback 💪

[@mikedamhesel]

Lol agreed my assistants were going crazy

[@angelabradley1763]

Does it work for Alexa as well?

[@rolandng2438]

Just brought one and the battery life only lasts for an hour of Spotify music, does it happen the same for you?

[@aaronjamesguevarra]

Can you use the usb c port as audio input? Is there a lag when playing movie audio from this speaker? Thanks

[@AdamSno]

No it's charging only, sucks :(

[@wadeadams2775]

Do I need Internet with this. Wifi amplifyed throughout the place???

[@mistron71]

Question here! If you play a movie on a projector via chromecast could the audio be played in the link portable instead of the in-built speakers?

[@TateVanPatten]

Sadly no

hello, when plugged on the base, does the speaker is always on and ready, or does it go to sleep mode meaning you have to wake it up manually after few hours ?

[@TateVanPatten]

Always on

[@pathfinder7793]

Any update on the ANKER SPORT XL?

[@tonyneal7324]

Hey great video and I’ve bought two speakers now and they are awesome. I’ve got four amber lights is this normal, as when it starts up there are four white lights. They both work though so it’s not a connection issue

[@stoli412]

I'm thinking about buying this for my bathroom, which doesn't have any plugs (I'm in the UK). Does the speaker power itself off after a certain period of time if it's not on the charging base? Is the 8 hour battery life a measure of active use or does that include powered-on/standby time as well? I want something that's 'always on' in the bathroom, but it won't work for me if I have to put it on its charging base every day.

[@81springbrook96]

Yes it stays on

[@cathyw8394]

Is there a water proof Amazon speaker or another brand that is Alexa compatible? I can't get this JBL to work with Alexa.

[@cassidyhawk420]

Great video!

[@meho9668]

One complaint...The night mode only lowers the brightness of four assistant dots. The dot for wifi at the front, the power button at the back and the battery power slide are all always on and in full brightness. Unless you turn the speaker completely off. This means the brightness get disturbing at night regardless of the night mode in google home...to bad. This is actually the only complaint over the speaker but most important if you use it in a bedroom. The other could be there is no EQ but the sound is OK and is not that big of a deal.

[@luisleh7004]

Is there a way to turn off WiFi and just use it for bluetooth?

[@rosalynmurray5210]

How do I connect to bluetooth? When I press the Bluetooth button the lights are lighting up

[@dkbotch]

Rosalyn Murray also finding it difficult connect mine to Bluetooth

[@101worlds]

What if compare with Bose Revolve+ II, Sonos Roam, Which sound quality is better? thx~

[@ankushkaul5092]

Great in depth review. One suggestion, please beep/silence out the 'Hey Google' part :)

[@enochronnie8312]

I realize I'm kind of randomly asking but does anybody know of a good site to stream new tv shows online?

[@keaganquinton8440]

@Enoch Ronnie Lately I have been using Flixzone. You can find it on google =)

[@sorenlandon7165]

@Enoch Ronnie I would suggest Flixzone. Just google for it =)

[@emersoncaspian8726]

@Enoch Ronnie try FlixZone. You can find it by googling :)

[@josupastorius]

In this speaker @JBLaudio Link Portable with a built in @Google @Chromecast, YOU CAN’T EQ THE SOUND (bass and treble). The EQ option on this speaker was removed in the latest software update.

[@chrisahlund]

How is the bass sound compared to Flip 5 or Link 20?

[@srenskammelsen4184]

Did you find an answer?

[@chrisahlund]

@@srenskammelsen4184 Not really, but I bought the Portable anyway and i'm happy with the sound.

[@philippquint]

Does anyone have an answer for that. Im interested in how it compares to the jbl link 20 which seems to be the same box and same function. Is there any lack in sound quality?

[@chrisahlund]

@@philippquint Don't know how the bass sounds on Link 20 but Link Portable has an ok bass, but not a "wow" feeling. It disappears the higher the volume gets. And Google have (for now) removed the speakers EQ feature on the Google Home app.

[@gartheligon140]

Tech Life...do you have a video on how to replace the battery?

[@PlectrumZProduction]

Mine came in a dobbel pack advertised to me linked with each other but I can’t find out how 😅 whelp!?

[@jimmydegens4049]

Nice review😁👍 Ps turn the "hey google" down😂😂😂

[@thisisoliver24]

I will be re-uploading because of copyright claim due to the music in the end so I will definitely make these changes in post. Thank you for the feedback 💪

[@billmoore5399]

Mine is 3 weeks old. Was working perfectly until two days ago. When my Iphone connects the sound is garbled static. Tried to do a hard reset but it does not do anything. Not a happy camper atm. Hopefully someone can help.

[@mantasvilcinskas]

did you figure out what to do with the speaker?

[@rohemoriyama]

hey guys does anyone know if you can connect this to your computer and listen to youtube videos with it?

[@peterbystrom6799]

Ro, yes, if you have a Mac and Connect to it with AirPlay.

[@haydenmeisinger7689]

I have a question every time I try to connect via Bluetooth outside of the house it doesn’t let me can it play without Wi-Fi

[@bladimirlg5043]

You have to configure your speaker with Google home, if you don't, you won't be able to use it with Bluetooth outside the home. It is portable of course that it can be used outside.

[@haydenmeisinger7689]

@@bladimirlg5043 ok thanks bro

[@bananapie38]

Can u ask google to play Apple Music ?

[@bastschi1507]

Hi Do the lights stay on permanently when it is on the base ?

[@thisisoliver24]

No it doesn’t. And during the night you can set it up so that the light is dimmer when you activate it.

[@thisisoliver24]

The single Wi-Fi LED in the bottom is always on if it’s connected to the Internet

[@bastschi1507]

@@thisisoliver24 oh that's not cool, does this light bother you at night?

[@mantasvilcinskas]

did you find an answer?

[@bastschi1507]

@@mantasvilcinskas no :/

[@iron-1]

How do I factory reset? Ive had since Christmas and worked great until left the house came back and now I can't get it to do anything. Help please anyone! Please and thank you!

[@wisnu3659]

2:36

[@max99dx85]

Did you get the wheel??? You haven’t replied

[@KingLouisDaSaint]

I can’t get mine to connect to my iPhone Bluetooth. What am I doing wrong?

[@LTSMusic-ih8cw]

Idk, maybe there's something wrong with your iPhone. Bc I can connect it to my iPhone :)

[@KingLouisDaSaint]

@@LTSMusic-ih8cw i got it to connect, but through airplay, not traditional Bluetooth

[@ChannelTwentyTwo]

Is it wise to just leave it on the charging dock forever, use as a permanent home speaker. Only taking it off the charger when going out for a trip. ?

[@81springbrook96]

Probably not

[@cemakyuz9257]

It’s a pity that it’s not possible to stereo pair. I’d definitely add another one if it was possible.

[@richarddevaux6124]

Has anyone found a way to stereo pair this speaker?

[@deeks03]

​@richarddevaux6124 you can pair two together if they are connected to your Google home app. Then you can set them as left and right speakers

[@Jonas-km4qx]

Thanks for a great video. Are you still happy with the speaker, and can i use the assistant when on Bluetooth? Yours Jonas

[@michaelboys2602]

Could you possibly do a “4 months later” review? Is it still working well? I want a smart speaker like this. I tried the bose home portable and it was awful as a smart speaker. It would be great to see how it works 4 moths later. Especially if google assistant is still working with spotify. That was the main problem with the bose home portable.

[@MikeStevens]

Oh wow, I was tempted to buy the Bose. What don't you like about it?

[@michaelboys2602]

Mike Stevens the problem I found with the bose is that it would never work with spotify and would just constantly flash yellow errors at me. I found out that apparently they don’t like wi-fi mesh systems (which I use) so I sent it back. I bought the JBL link portable about a month ago to replace it and I have to say it is fantastic!! Never gone wrong once. Always reliable. If you want a good sounding portable google speaker, then get one of these. Cannot recommend it enough. Its also less than half the price of the bose. Win win.

[@gamehighlights2975]

It is perfect

[@mohamedemarah9379]

It's an excellent speaker 5 months later nothing changed

[@Matdog2010]

We had a 1st gen Echo in our master bathroom for listening to music in the morning kzbin.infoUgkxABghAEkaIDGZfHRBH3D3rBrlraNmnC71 and while in the shower. I didn't realize how tinny and awful the sound output on the original Echo was until we replaced it with the Studio. It was a sonic upgrade far beyond what I was expecting. Just wow. I love it because it's like having speakers IN the shower. My friend likes it because the music is so loud that she can no longer hear me singing. So that's a win-win.

[@plazmatest]

so does it need wifi to work?

[@plazmatest]

oh i guess if it needs to make net work requests. but it would be dope if it could make network requests using your phones cellular data

[@thiago_oliv]

1:50 This bar needs improvement. If you click any button it will light up, but the button itself will perform its function too. If you click the Bluetooth button, as the video shows, Bluetooth will be in pairing mode for a while, turning off your current connection. The mute button also immediately triggers its action, doing the speaker to announce it's muted now. Imagine playing music using Bluetooth while on a trip, far from WiFi: you don't have a simple way to tell how much juice it still has. I'd like to know an easier way to see the battery bar...

[@juicyj3247]

Having troubles pairing my phone with it. Any suggestions ?

[@tunggf]

Have you reset it?

[@thisisoliver24]

First follow the steps in the Google home app and connect it to your Wi-Fi then Bluetooth will work

[@iron-1]

@@tunggf how do you reset it

[@mohamedemarah9379]

@@iron-1 hold the microphone button for 10 seconds

[@raymundoamador9103]

Excelente video. ¿En cuál tienda es recomendable comprar?

[@labombaNL]

Apple store

[@topgear_75]

Comprar JBL usa store

[@joshdimovski4483]

Jbl link 20 or Jbl link portable ?

[@FJ2370]

I'm also curious

[@joshdimovski4483]

@@FJ2370 I bought the portable good so far.

[@philippquint]

Does anyone have an answer for that. Im interested in how it compares to the jbl link 20 which seems to be the same box and same function. Is there any lack in sound quality?

[@Davey89]

I believe link portable are the replacement for Link 20. I just sent my Link 20 in for RMA and they're sending me back a Link Portable

[@davidjackson1171]

My link portable keeps shutting down after 10sec I change my wifi

[@CHARrrrrrrrr]

Can not accept a phonecall. Thank you, thats what i wanted to know :)

[@plazmatest]

i wonder if this is still true maybe they have patched it

[@gamehighlights2975]

@@plazmatest nope

[@wotysgtb4348]

Mine will make phone calls but not sure if it accepts them

[@tonyjohansson6394]

You have to say volume up, or volume 20%

[@robertomaradiaga5596]

hello i like speakers i have 3 in my room and the are bery god i am living in nicaragua god video

[@Technoid10]

I think the jbl link music is a better choice it's always plugged in and ment for home use

[@3973555]

well this is exactly what you just stated as well as the option for being portable

[@ChannelTwentyTwo]

Would it be bad to leave the portable link always plugged in and used as home speaker? And then i could take it off the charger when i want to go out

[@BrennanWilliams1]

@@ChannelTwentyTwo I think that's what it is designed exactly to do.

[@ChannelTwentyTwo]

Brennan Williams yep i got it now and i do that. no issues so far, lovin this device

[@kaycereycapua6868]

@@ChannelTwentyTwo How is it 2 years after doing this?

[@yescocina]

It will not work with out wife???

[@KingLouisDaSaint]

No. It won’t

[@jcchilli]

Yes, you definitely need a wife for this to work.

[@binho3019]

How annoying having my devices triggered anytime you say "Hey Google ...", please try to mute the "hey google", this is not cool, I do understand that the purpose of this video is to show the features and you cant show without trying it, but please edit the video!!! See all others tech youtubers, they all respect the viewers and prevent any unwanted triggers. Thanks for the great review, it helped to learn more about it before purchasing, that was great and I thank you for that, but please see my advice if no other commented this already.

[@ivanbionio]

There is an issue with the battery, it fails! No a unique case of battery problems with this speaker :(

[@gilbert9856]

i got one but my flip 4 still sounds better

[@shitydrummer]

I think it made to be a portable google home type of speaker

[@maulees]

I don't get it. Why link 10,link 20, then this portable. And I cant find anywhere online what's the difference between link 20 and link portable. Why jbl make this mess and launch different products across countries

[@EmoEmu]

Copenhagen doxxed!

[@tonhettema1005]

I do not understand how you can just speak about this device and not address the most basic issue: HOW TO CONNECT THE BLOODY THING TO THE INTERNET!!!

[@antonmagiel]

Most useless speaker from JBL. I bought this speaker and cannot pair it with my I Phone. The salesman was unable to assist me. A total waiste of time and money. I have a Sonos Wi Fi speaker which has a lovely sound but all of a dudden stopped connecting. I am going to get rid of the Sonos and JBL connect which does not connect at all and keep. my trustworhy JBL Extreme 2

[@hernandezrivas]

Piece of junk!! lasted 1 month.... dont buy it '

[@conanlovelock6941]

how about you stop using the activation word on the video.. very annoying when it activates my nest mini

[@gregfalc]

How else can he properly show how this equipment works? Get headphones

[@magnustjerneld2594]

@@gregfalc By muting the sound when he says *"hey google". He could add a text to the video saying the words so that the viewer know what's going on.